The crowd cheered, the trumpets blared, and the marching drum filled the mid morning air with a rising crescendo. The bright sunlight blazed into The Hangman’s eyes, practically blinding him and blotting out the sight of the throngs of people gathered along each side of Main Street.
Perched on the high seat of the lead circus wagon, The Hangman From Hell was a spectacular celebrity. With his broad brimmed black hat in hand he waved seemingly, exuberant, to the cheering onlookers, bowing first to one side of the street and then the other; the crowd completely oblivious to the revulsion the man in black was actually feeling. His stomach felt cold and empty and a bitter taste welled on his tongue.
A driver dressed in a long, brass buttoned red coat and navy blue trousers with yellow stripes on each pant leg drove the matched pair of thick ankled, brown drayage horses. Red and blue plumes were affixed to each of the animals’ heads.
A marching band of two trumpet players and a drummer preceded The Hangman’s wagon followed by a huge lumbering elephant. A young woman scantily attired sat astride the big animal’s neck, smiling and waving to the crowd.
Behind the lead wagon a steam calliope chirped a happy circus like tune which seemed to conflict with the blaring music at the front of the parade. Clowns and other performers followed along on foot, followed by caged wagons exhibiting lions and tigers. Riders on fine looking horses brought up the rear of the procession. All were decked out in gaudy, rhinestone covered tights of brilliant colors.
The parade was just the start of festivities and the throngs of people cheered wildly with anticipation of the upcoming events which included, not only the circus, but the attraction of a noonday hanging today and tomorrow.
Today’s hanging would feature three boys who would stretch rope in payment for horse stealing. Excitement was in the air and thrills were to be had for one and all. That is, except for the three main participants.
The man known to one and all as The Hangman From Hell had been up since dawn. He had barely slept at Sheriff Logan’s house, the night before. He had laid awake listening for sounds; hoping that when everyone was asleep, he could once again slip out and escape. He wouldn’t go back to the livery, he had told himself. He would take the first horse he could find and light a shuck out of town as fast as he could.
But, when everything seemed quiet, he crept toward the bedroom door and tried the knob. Apparently, Sue was not the only one in a locked room. His had been locked in too. From the outside. He had been a prisoner after all.
When morning came, he found the door had been unlocked and Sheriff Logan was already up. Neither mentioned anything about a locked door. Mrs. Logan and Sue were nowhere to be seen. Either they were not yet up or were making themselves scarce while The Hangman was still in the house.
After breakfast Sheriff Logan accompanied The Hangman to the hardware store to pick out the ropes to be used for the hanging. The Kid did his best to act professional, pretending to pick out the most suitable hemp ropes for this day’s gallows candidates. Since the prisoners were just boys and still slight of build, ropes of medium weight and strength were chosen. The Hangman tugged vigorously on each one as if testing its endurance. Truth be known, he didn’t have the faintest idea of what he was doing.
Seemingly satisfying himself that the ropes were sufficient, he set about forming the hangman’s knot on each one. This was something he actually knew about, for he had seen it done many times. Fortunately, he had never experienced it first hand, as those young boys in the jail would do today.
He formed the loop at the end by bending the rope upward with enough of the rope’s end to fold downward three quarters of the way down the side of the formed noose. Here he wrapped the dangling end around the two strands of the noose and continued wrapping it in coils upward. Thirteen coils was the appropriate number. With the remaining open loop on the top of the formed noose, he tucked the loose end of the rope into the loop. He then , pulled one side of the noose downward to draw the top loop tight to the top of the knot. The hangman then tugged hard against the noose to satisfy himself the knot was tight and strong.
He repeated the process on the other two ropes. When he finished, he piled the ropes on the store counter and instructed the owner to have the ropes delivered to the gallows and installed, immediately.
All through the process, he occasionally stole a furtive glance at the watchful lawman. All indications were that the sheriff had bought his performance, but he would not allow himself the luxury to assume that all was well.
After the hardware store, Logan and The Hangman stopped to visit the local undertaker, Cyrus Flagg. Flagg was a rotund, jolly sort of man; a stark contrast to the stereotypical usual image of a grim cadaverous looking undertaker.
Flagg assured the hangman that the coffins were prepared and the wagons would be provided promptly. Each wagon would be an open buckboard, pulled by a single team of horses. The wagons would be backed into the open stall like bay areas below each of the gallows’ trap doors. The hanged outlaw’s feet would dangle a couple of feet above the buckboard. When the hanged man would appear to have expired, he would be released and dropped into the bed of the wagon. Doc Silva would then examine the body and affirm the man’s death. The drivers would then drive the bodies back to the undertaker’s shop and park at the rear of the building. Flagg would make final preparations and the bodies would be driven to the cemetery for burial.
The next stop was Doc Silva’s. The doctor was tall thin man in his early sixties. His full head of hair was snow white and parted on the left with the front locks fluffed into a curl that fell over his narrow brow. He assured The Hangman and the sheriff that he would be on the job and was fully aware of his duties.
The next stop was to inspect the gallows themselves. By the time they arrived, the ropes had already been delivered and installed. A noose hung from the wooden horizontal bar that ran the length of the gallows, high above each of three trap doors. Excess length of rope was draped over the bar also. The excess length would allow just enough room for each candidate to fall beneath the gallows floor, and just far enough to dangle above the wagon bed.
The first thing that Sheriff Logan brought to The Hangman’s attention was the rear of the gallows. He showed him the mechanism that would be used for the simultaneous hanging scheduled for the next day. Midway up the back frame of the gallows was a long bar that ran the entire length of the gallows. A series of heavy coiled springs had been placed at evenly spaced intervals and fitted between the bar and the framework of the gallows. Currently, the coils were compressed and the long bar had been engaged firmly against them. Logan explained that there was a lever up above that could be operated from the gallows floor. This lever would disengage the bar and the strong springs would shove the bar backward, releasing bars from beneath the trap doors and allowing the participants to fall through.
After climbing the thirteen steps of the gallows Logan showed The Hangman the appropriate lever for releasing the mechanism. He also showed him other levers. One was located behind each trapdoor. He explained that these were used when the hangings were to be done one at a time as they would be this day. He also explained that all of these levers must be disengaged when using the simultaneous hanging method. Laredo listened intently as if this was all routine for him. He tried to hide the sickness that welled up inside him at the ghastly thought of the young men who would be hanging here and he reviled himself for the part he would play in this travesty.
When the sheriff finished his dissertation as to the mechanics of the gallows, The Hangman set to work with the rituals he had seen other hangmen go through. He tested the levers, making sure that the trapdoors would spring appropriately. He pulled on each rope and tested its strength. While hanging on to the ropes he stood on the trapdoors himself to make sure they would not release at the wrong time while the prisoner was still standing on it and waiting for the trapdoor to open. When he was satisfied with everything, he made sure that the excess lengths of rope were once more draped
across the top beam of the gallows.
Laredo held his breath as he indicated to Sheriff Logan that he was satisfied with the arrangements and ready for the day’s work ahead. He hoped he had been a good enough actor and when there was no indication otherwise from the lawman, he half breathed a sigh of relief to himself. But, he would still remain on guard just in case he had not, in fact, fooled anyone. The next step was going to be just as difficult, he would have to ride in that fool parade.
Now as he sat on his perch aboard that gaudy circus wagon, continuing to play the part of the celebrated Hangman from Hell, he knew there was no escape for him. He would have no choice but to send three young boys to meet their maker today, just to protect his own miserable hide and to continue living a lonely worthless life that meant nothing to himself or anyone else for that matter. He could not detest himself less.
*****
Chapter Twelve